6.26.2015
when a friend is in
trouble, someone
should call… not just
send a check.
Lord you placed us
here to be your face
your voice your
comfort your person
your presence
for each other
help us to connect
rather than run,
to move closer
rather than further.
reach through our
distancing and
forgive us for the
limits of our weary
hearts.
when a friend is in
trouble, help us to
call, and not just
send a check.
—————————-
6.23.2015
northern lights
didn’t appear tonight.
maybe they’re hiding
or hanging back
the blues and greens
slashing pinks and
flares
hiding their flamenco
skirts
so that I won’t be
scandalized.
——————–
6.21.2015
Father’s Day 2015
my children write poems
about me, put parts
of me into their plays,
move next door,
make dinner, call on
the phone,
ask for advice.
it all brings a choke to
my throat.
of love.
of appreciation. of
thankfulness.
for the grace to find
myself the father
I never imagined
I would be
for the woman who
shared me into
caring and loving
from a place that I
didn’t know existed
but hoped.
and the One
who pushed
pulled called out
of me things deeper
than I knew,
placed there by
grace.
————————
he’s washing the dishes. a
man shouldn’t do that. it’s
embarrassing. the other kid’s
dad’s don’t. it’s women’s work.
I hide my head.
I stand at the sink now years
later and see my mother’s hands
raw, cracked, hurting. he did
it for her, out of love, long before
we learned to lib.
I am embarrassed now, that I
didn’t see the strong heart in
those brute shoulders, bent
forward with the scrub brush
in his hands.
——————–
(for my father, repeated from 6.16.2013)
6.18.2015 [love and mercy]
gifts can be burdens
driving away into
isolation
those who bare
them
yet the openness
to what is
present
can also
feel the hand
of grace
when it appears.
that is our faith
and the hope.
that love and mercy
have come,
and will again,
for us..
——————
6.17.2015
sons around the table,
having a beer on the
back deck, staking
out steaks around the
grill, chatting up dad
as if it were every day.
if only it were.
——————-
6.16.2015
early the loneliness
pained, the isolation
of difference holding
me off
then in my scrambling
I lashed, hurting
without knowledge
but sadly open
in intent
late the inner spark
turned my heart
opening it
to what I could
not deny
and love saved me.
mercy, forgiveness
and ardent desire,
the gifts of the one
true God.
————–
6.14.2015
spring crickets chirrup
as mid brisk breeze
eases in
tired eyes and arms
welcome the
caresses
—————
6.12
rain in the night brings
a smile
snug in our beds
windows askew
doggie hiding in the
tile bathroom
the steady rising and
slowing patter
flows like good wishes
down the roof slant
washing away the
sins and failings of
whatever life threw
at us this day.
————————
6.11.2015
trees have life spans
branches needing
lopping, crowns
needing topping
so the buzz crunch
comes, sawing,
downing,
trimming, seeding.
I wonder if it knows
or feels or misses
what has gone
or is the pull of the
sun so fair
that nothing below
matters.
—————-
PoemsPerDay 